First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic met today Vice Premier of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.
Minister Dacic and Ukraine’s Vice Premier noted the commitment of both sides to the principle of territorial integrity as the fundamental postulate of the peaceful development of international relations.
Minister Dacic was thankful for an active involvement of Ukrainian KFOR whose troops, truly supported by the local Serbian population, guard and provide fixing to Serbian holy sites in Kosovo and Metohija.
At today’s meeting both sides underlined that it was necessary for their bilateral relations to be promoted further. To this end, they stressed the need to re-launch the Joint Committee mechanism leading to the signature of a series of agreements, including a Free Trade Agreement, which is most essential for the further development of cooperation. Ukraine is the only country in Europe with which the Republic of Serbia has no such agreement.
The Ukrainian side also reaffirmed its constructive approach towards Serbia’s accession to the World Trade Organization, with the expectation expressed by both sides to have these negotiations completed by the end of 2017 at the latest.
It was confirmed that the Chambers of Commerce of the two countries would hold Serbia-Ukraine Business Forum in September 2016 in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian side was interested in hearing the experiences of the Republic of Serbia in the European integration process, and in this context it was agreed to exchange and share experiences.